Powdery weekend at Silver

We headed out on the Desert Ski Club trip to Silver Mountain in Idaho, expecting a good social trip on a deep base, with maybe a little new snow by Sunday. But like has happened several times this magical winter, we got so much more.

Saturday morning was cold and crisp, keeping the squeaky snow in fine condition. Good visibility gave us chance to reacquaint ourselves with the mountain, which was fully open with a good cover all the way down to the base of Chair 4. The steep Moonshine was a personal highlight, covered in forgiving soft bumps.

I forget exactly when, but around late morning it began to snow. Heavy. In fact it dumped, completely transforming the conditions from good to really superb. We skied until it was basically dark and the lights were on. Even then, another run was tempting, but the draw of beer at the Ski Club apres party just won out.

And then it snowed 14 inches overnight. When the ropes went down at 9am, a surprisingly small volume of people scattered around the hill in all directions, throwing up white rooster tails as they carved through the deep pillowy powder. We essentially lapped the North Face Glades and South of the Border all day (pics here), where fresh lines were to be found until close with a little exploration. The glades were especially rewarding: the steep pitch and well spaced trees being ideal for producing numerous face shots and floaty turns in the deep white fluff.

The massive snow storm meant a slow and fairly sedate bus ride home, but I don’t think anyone cared. We’d seen Silver at its best, and that was all that mattered. Thanks go to Greg for organizing a really excellent weekend.